Episode 19-"Power Upgrade"(Part One)

'One Shall Stand-One Shall Fall'

Central NJ University-where the students, undergraduate and graduates alike prepare for their finals, term papers, and the like. Our heroes are no exception, even Professor Alex has her hands full preparing her students for the finals in her film/cinema classes.

Alex was talking to Takeshi on the phone. "So, are you ready?"

"For what?"

"You mean that you've forgotten about your trip to London? The one where you and a few college deans from the East Coast go to a special Asian Studies Conference?"

"And to make things so bad, I didn't even send in for my hotel room..How absent-minded can I get?" As Takeshi asks, one of the deans enter through his office. "Dean Perry's in my office, Alex..I've got to go..We'll touch base before I leave..Thanks!" Takeshi hangs up and discuss the conference plans.

Meanwhile, the civilian Scanrangers are all around various parts of the campus studying. Nick and Vin were involved in different study groups in the Warner/Mayer library. B.C. was stocking books upstairs, and Toni was practicing for her recital. Kunio was on the second floor library doing some hard research.

"All right.." Mikey said to himself. "Where's that text book on Impressionist Paintings? I need that for extra credit..Plus, if I don't pass, it'll mean a temporary suspension off the team until I take the class again next fall.." Mikey finds the book on the top shelf, but it was so tightly wedged in that it couldn't move. "There it is! Now...I can..drat..It's really stuck!" Pulling with all his might on the stool, he gets the book out, but not before at least three heavy books hit a student below as she walked by.

"Ah! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it! Those books were too tight on the shelf! Are you all right?" said Mikey.

"No thanks to you.. I'll be okay.." said the girl.

"Carmen?" Mikey recognized her as one of his classmates in the Illustrator II course. She was a very attractive Hispanic lady, but had a very selfish personality, unlike Mikey, yet opens up when she talked about her favorite thing..cartoons.

"Let me help you up there.." Mikey said. "Don't sweat it, I'm cool.." said Carmen. "I'm just ticked cause I'm trying to find the last copy on Impressionist Paintings...and everyone has grabbed a copy already.." Except for the one Mikey happened to have in his hand. Mikey with great reluctance, decided to give Carmen the book. "You mean this one?" he said, handing it to her.

"Yes! Yes! That's it! That's the one!" Carmen was so excited that she ran to the circulation desk and ran out to get started on her term paper. Meanwhile, Mikey felt as if he was left holding the bag. "Uhhh, You're welcome, Carmen..." The poor guy didn't even get a 'thank you' for the unselfish act. "Oh well, I can always go to North Orange University's library to get the book..."

Meanwhile, on the dark side of the moon(no pun intended, Pink Floyd fans), Benedict's Brigade prepare for departure. "My fellow Brigade teammates...Today shall be a glorious day! A day where victory shall be claimed to us! A day where we shall see Lord Blackorg's plan for conquering Earth to reach fruition! But most importantly, this will be a day where we shall see those blasted Scanrangers defeated and destroyed!" The other four remaining members, KuroGrappler, KuroFrost, KuroFire, and KuroLectronn cheer heartily. "Behold, Brigade! Our newest and most improved weapon of destruction..." The lights come on, and behold a 250 foot robot, a model similar to the Demolisher, the Brigade's first robot. The color scheme was a blood red color instead of silver and black.

"Now, Mr. KuroGrappler..." continued Benedict. "Prepare for departure! Begin Phase One of 'Operation: Splice'!

"Of course, Lord Benedict!" KuroGrappler teleports.

Back at Nebultopia, Vixen gets a telepathic call(which she had never possessed before)and gasps. "What? They're still alive!!"

"Who's still alive?" replied Anark Key.

"Benedict and his brigade..They've sent one of their members down to Earth! To what purpose, I don't know..."

"Time out! You've never possessed that kind of power before...You've somehow gained the power of telepathy."

"You are correct, Key.." Blackorg enters. "And with your new powers awakened, my lovely Vixen..in addition to the film energies that you partially stole from the Brigade via the Scanrangers..."

Vixen asks, "How did you know, my Lord? Then again, I shouldn't question that, for you know everything..."

"The day where Benedict tried to steal the Scanrangers' powers for their own, I knew that their plans would go awry..Thus, I planted a thought within Anark Key's mind to intercept that power(see Episode 14)..I can arrange to make those heroes powers and make it your own..."

"That explains how General Ug was able to summon that laser cannon the last time we battled them!" said Key.

"Indeed...For the time being, let us see what the Brigade can do..Yet Benedict should have informed me of his plan before going on his own..His rebellious aristocratic nature shall be his undoing, if anything goes wrong..." Blackorg then chuckles.

Back on campus, the Scanranger crew hang out at their usual meeting spot at the cafeteria. Mikey walks in to join the other four.

"What's up, Mikey?" said Vin.

"Nada, compadre..Just finishing up my research on that history class..I realized that I've got to add on at least seven more pages to my term paper.."

"But didn't you get the sources according to the syllabus your instructor gave you?" asked B.C.

"Yes..and no.."

"What do you mean, yes and no?"

"I mean, I had the chance to get the last art history textbook, but I kept on putting it off and putting it off..Now, I've got a week until the paper's due.."

"You know what that means, do you, Mikey?" continued Nick. "A temporary suspension from the team and you also have to take the class during the summer..Professor Alex wouldn't appreciate that.."

"I know..I know..But I've no choice but to get started on this thing.." Mikey grabs his bookbag and leaves. "I'll catch up with you guys later.."

"What's up with the anime maniac? He's acting very weird.." said Nick.

"It's a girl.." replied Toni. "This classmate of his has been seemingly distracting him..I'm concerned about him..Mikey likes her.."

"Are we talking unrequited love here?" said B.C.

"Absolutely..."

Meanwhile, KuroGrappler lands outside the Leewood Park area. "All I need is a distraction in order to bring the Scanrangers here... What shall I do?" He then thought about the last time he fought GreenScanner. Beaten by his own tactics, it brought out an all-cosuming anger..He then disguises himself as a biker. The other students look up and stare at him. "WHAT'RE YOU ALL LOOKING AT?" he shouted. "You haven't seen a motorcycle person before? I remember his face..About my height, with brownish hair.." He sees a guy with light brown hair from a distance.

"There he is! I'll take that blasted ranger before he can even transform into his battle gear! You're mine, GreenScanner!" He grabs the man, but it wasn't Nick!

"HEY! WHAT'RE YOU DOING, MAN?!" shouted the man.

"Grrr! You're not the one I'm looking for! Away with you!" KuroGrappler throws the man onto the grass. "No matter..I'll find him yet..."

Act two

Meanwhile, Toni and Nick walk through the park to meet up with the gang. "So, how's the finals coming along, Toni?" Nick asks.

"It's all right..Aside from the recital that I have to get ready for Thursday, I've finished with that Bio class..I thought I'd never get that out of the way..That instructor is even more dramatic than Professor Alex when she gets hyper.." KuroGrappler, still in his biker guise, finds them. "That's him! That's that goody-two shoe rascal!" He then teleports about a few feet near the two, where they turn the corner near the park office, with Nick in front.

"All I have to do is to make sure that-" In mid-sentence, Toni disappears. Nick turns his head, and notices her missing. "Hey, Tone! Hey! Where are you? Toni!" he calls out.

"Looking for your girlie-girl, GreenScanner?" replied KuroGrappler, with Toni's neck locked in a choke hold. "She can't hear you now, she's unavailable at the moment. Heh heh heh.."

"Let her go!" replied Nick. "It's me you want!"

"I know that, Scanranger..but to make sure she doesn't cry out to her fellow teammates.." He reaches for Toni's FilmBrace, but she grabs KuroGrappler by his jacket and throws him over. She had feigned unconsciousness for a few moments.

"Typical no-brain robot.." Toni said. "..thinking that this female is helpless..Welcome to the twenty-first century, you moron!" She runs back to Nick. "Ready to do this, Nick?"

"And then some!" he replied. They shout out, "LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! SCANRANGER!" They transform into GreenScanner and PinkScanner. Toni goes out to attack KuroGrappler first.

"Stay out of this, PinkScanner! Like your friend said, It's him I want!" The Brigade member throws an explosive device at Pink, blinding her briefly. She looks and saw KuroGrappler and GreenScanner both gone.

The other rangers, Red, Yellow, and Blue join up with Toni. "Toni!" said Red. "Are you all right? Where's Nick?"

"I-I don't know..but KuroGrappler attacked us, and then the two of them disappeared!"

Red was stunned. "It's true, then! Benedict's Brigade are back!" Benedict himself was watching the battle up on his moon base.

"That's right, you fools! We are back, and here to make you all pay..with interest!" Mr.KuroLectronn! Your turn!" He sends him for the next attack.

Back on Earth, BlueScanner calls up Sarita. "Sarita! This is an emergency! Can you detect Nick's whereabouts?"

Sarita replies by getting a crew of 'Second Unit' techs. "Everybody! I need you all to search for GreenScanner immediately!" The techs do so, yet nothing was showing up on their radar, or via their special satellites all over the world. Sarita responds back to Blue. "Negative, BlueScanner..I can't locate him even within the 500 mile radius of this area... I'll keep on scanning away.."

As soon as Blue signed out, KuroLectronn appeared in front of the rangers..only 200 feet tall! He laughs at them.

"KuroLectronn!" shouted the rangers.

"That's right, puny humans! I'm large and in charge! To charge you up with a bolt of electricity..Like this!" The Brigade member blasts the team with his electric bolts!

Alex watches the battle back at base. "RANGERS!" she shouted.

"ALL RIGHT! THAT'S IT! YOU WANT THUNDER AND LIGHTING, YOU GOT IT!" shouted Red. The team yells out, "ROLL OUT, HOLLYWOOD VEHICLES!" While the HV's combine into Thunder Dolby THX to battle the giant KuroLectronn, in the meantime, Green and KuroGrappler land in what looked like another dimension. "What? Where are we?!" demanded Green.

"No place important.." replied KuroGrappler. "..except that this will be your burial ground, GreenScanner.." Nick notices that the two were in a wrestling ring, with barbed wire at the top ropes. During the warp, Nick was back in his civilian form.

He tried desperately to battle the cyborg wrestler, and takes him to the ground. As Nick attempted to put a choke hold on KuroGrappler, he retaliates with a kick onto Nick's back. flipping him over.

"That was a big mistake, pal! I'm about to give you a can of whoop-butt on your behind! CAMERA! ACT-" Nick's FilmBrace was covered with a blob of glue shot by the Brigade monster, making him unable to complete the transformation into GreenScanner!

Back on Earth, Thunder Dolby fought valiantly against KuroLectronn, but the villain had the upper hand. "This is shocking, eh, Thunder Dolby? Check it out, this next thing is really going to be positively shocking! LECTRONN ARROW!" He throws the lighting bolt at Dolby, but the Scanranger robot reflects it just in time with the Dolby Shield.

The rangers shout out, "GATLING REEL GUNNER! FIRE!" They follow up with the.."DOLBY BEAM!" The blast knocks down KuroLectronn.

Back in the other dimension, Nick tried to get the glue off his FilmBrace, but his other hand was stuck in the process! "Fool!" said KuroGrappler. "I figured you would try to transform and then call up your pathetic Holo-clones!"

"WHAT?! How did you know?"

"Just give thanks to Lord Benedict and the machine that drained your original film energies..What you had once possessed is now mine! Within moments, I shall finish you! And not even your teammates will be able to prevent it!! Before I do so, I would like to introduce to you my tag team..The Grappler Gang!" They were evil clones of KuroGrappler, used from Green's SPFX film energies. Nick struggles to transform despite the glue, and was able to load the disc to complete the GreenScanner change. He pulls out his Disc Launcher, attempting to scatter KuroGrappler's clones. However, one of the gang members kick Green's weapon away. Nick did his best to fight them all off, but the Grappler Gang pummel him non-stop.

Cut back to the giant battle, where KuroLectronn was weakened, using up his energy while in giant mode. Dolby pulls out the Great Editor Sword, but KuroLectronn blasts the robot full power! Thunder Dolby races to finish off the giant. The only difference was instead of the usual spinning attack, the robot stood on one leg, which was the leg of TP Seahorse, for the fact that electricity can't affect rubber while in motion, and using the sword as a lighting rod, charging the sword with extra energy!

"FINAL CUT!" shouted the rangers, slicing the Brigade villain in two.

"NO! IT CAN'T BE! YOU CAN'T BEAT ME!" cried KuroLectronn. "YOU CAN'TTT!" He goes down exploding.

Later, the crew calls out searching for the missing GreenScanner. "Nick! Nick!" Vin shouted out his name. B.C., Mikey, and Toni do he same. Suddenly, out of an unknown portal came a flying body falling from the sky. Toni looks, and finds..Nick; bloodied and defeated. She screams, attracting the attention of the others. "NICKK! NO! IT CAN'T BE!" cried Vin. B.C. and Mikey approach him slowly, in shock and in all-consuming anger.Back at Cape Paramount, Professor Alex, Dr.Markby, and Rosewood stare silently in shock at the screen, also in disgust and sorrow. Vin embraced the unconscious and possibly dead Scanranger tightly in his arms. A lone tear fell from his eye.

To be continued!!!

In our next Scanranger adventure, the fallen GreenScanner lies in critical condition. And as if the movie task force didn't have enough to worry about, the worst is yet to come when the Brigade attacks again! This time, a new and improved Demolisher has arrived to finish off our heroes! Is there no stopping Benedict's ruthless Brigade?

Next time on Movie Task Force Scanranger-Episode 20

Power Upgrade Part Two

"Chaos Will Be! The Destruction of Thunder Dolby THX?!"

Roll That Film!!